Daredevil #24: To Hell with the Devil

Things have changed a LOT for ol’ horn-head in a few shorts months, but this has almost never been this entertaining. There are a couple of exceptions, but no comic book is ever perfect. This story by artist Chip Zdarsky is definitely moving into brand new territory, the only problem with that is, it seems like I’ve read it before. Daredevil is on trial for murder, and Foggy has made a real surprise move by bringing a guest-star that you won’t believe onto DD’s legal team. VERY innovative stuff. If you can surprise a life-long Daredevil fan, you’re doing really great work. Now, this isn’t the first time Daredevil’s been on trial, but this is the first time that he’s stood before the courts AS DAREDEVIL and had his actions reviewed by the law. Zdarsky plays up the wrong element when it comes to the courtroom itself. He makes a big deal of some other heroes showing up because this case will decide if heroes have to mask or unmask, which if my memory serves me correctly, was the whole point of the Civil War mini-series awhile back. So, to tread over this ground again, didn’t impress me a whole lot, but otherwise, the issue was fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, Mike Hawthorne is on the book now, so that’s awesome! I’ve been following Mike’s work since he was on Conan at Dark Horse, and seeing him mature over the years, watching his work get better on a monthly basis, has been awesome. Here, we get the best Mike Hawthorne that we’ve gotten yet. Stunning scenes, panels that flow into the next with an almost seamless transition, and his facial expressions are something that every young artist looking to break into comics should study. There is an artistic choice made that I wasn’t that big a fan of, but it might be just me. At one point, Daredevil shows up to court with a suit over his costume, and it reminded me SO much of those old “Twisted Toyfare Theater” comics in Toyfare magazine. Overall, a really great job, I just wish that I could permanently get this:

Outta my mind.